Is a bitcoin a real coin?

“The Complete Bitcoin F.A.Q.” is a series for total beginners. Straight answers to real questions—no hype, no technical nonsense.

I see pictures of shiny gold coins with a “B” on them. Is that Bitcoin?

Nope. Those gold coins are just props. They’re good for photos and headlines, but they have nothing to do with real Bitcoin.

Bitcoin doesn’t exist in a physical form—it’s 100% digital. There’s no vault full of coins. No treasure chest. No banknote with a dead president’s face on it.

Think of it like airline points—not in value or use, but in form. You can’t hold a “mile” in your hand. It exists as data, tracked by a system that says you earned it.

Bitcoin is the same way, except instead of a private airline managing it, it’s an open, global network that anyone can verify. Nobody controls the network. Nobody can censor it, kick you off it, or steal from it. But don’t worry about the network now. I’ll explain that later...

You can buy Bitcoin from an exchange—which is like buying foreign currency at a bank, except the bank is online. You can buy bitcoin from another person in real life, but it carries the same risks as buying gold with cash from someone you don’t know, in real life. Might not be a great idea.

But here’s something people new to bitcoin don’t always understand: You don’t have to buy a whole coin. One bitcoin can be divided into 100 million sats (satoshis)—like pennies, but digital.

This is important because of a mental trap called unit bias: People often assume they can’t afford Bitcoin because they see the price of one coin. But you can buy $10 worth, or even less. You don’t need a full coin to get started. You just need to start.

Wealth melts. How much you got left?

Disclaimer: Melting Wealth is not financial advice. It’s a wake-up call. Think for yourself, question the system, and take responsibility for your decisions. Your money, your risk, your move.